This movie is hard to describe.
It is in part a journey back in time for director Ari Folman, who is disturbed by the fact he cannot remember incidents that happened while he was in the Israeli army.
Folman reconnects with others who were with him in 1982 when Bashir Gemayel, Lebanon’s newly elected president, was assassinated.
He slowly pieces together the events that occurred in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon at that time.
This is an Israeli film. The dialogue is in Hebrew and when Folman refers to “the massacre,” one gets the idea that Israelis know to what is being referred.
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After Gemayel’s murder, his party (the Christian Phalangists), went on a killing spree in Sabra and Shatila. There, in the Palestinian refugee camps, they killed at least hundreds if not thousands of innocent victims.
“Waltz with Bashir” shows that, while the Israeli Defense Force did not take part in the slaughter, they looked on as it happened.
As for the film itself, Rotten Tomatoes’ review is that “Waltz with Bashir is as difficult to categorize as it is to forget. It is a truly startling achievement, a film that can be classified as animation and documentary and history and fiction.” The review can be found at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waltz_with_bashir/#
The animation in this movie is striking and haunting at the same time.
Also, the film’s score by German composer Max Richter complements the action well. There are also some pop songs used which help bring the viewer back to 1982.
This award-winning film is as much about memory and guilt as it is about war and atrocity and should be viewed by anyone interested in human rights, Israel, Lebanon, and the Middle East.
“Waltz with Bashir,” at 90 minutes long, is rated R.
Murphy can be reached at: [email protected]
